Fish Fossil 3-D Print May Hold Clues on Teeth Origins

Photo: Shown is an enlarged 3-D print of the jaw and tooth-like denticles of the ancient fish fossil. Credit: Stuart Hay, ANU A 400-million-year-old fish fossil from Australia may hold fresh clues about the evolution of teeth.

Writing in the journal Biology Letters, a team of scientists from Australian National University (ANU) and Queensland Museum describe their work using micro-CT scanning and 3-D printing to create three-dimensional prints of the jaws of Buchanosteus, an armored fish in an extinct class called placoderms.

Study co-author Yuzhi Hu, an ANU researcher, called the evolutionary origins of teeth a major and still open question. "We are researching this question using new evidence from an exceptionally preserved fossil fish," she said in a statement.

Buchanosteus is a common focus of research into the origins of teeth, the researchers say. Credit: WikiMedia Commons/Apokryltaros

The ANU authors, alongside Queensland Museum researcher Carole Burrow, argued against findings in an earlier paper that concluded that placoderms had real teeth.

"We are conducting further research on the internal tissue structure of tooth-like denticles in the mouth of the fish fossil, to determine whether they represent a transitional stage in the evolution of teeth," explained Gavin Young, ANU researcher and co-author of the study.

The team said its findings could help answer the questions of when and how teeth first appeared in evolutionary history.